A day full of sound and fury, where in the end nothing really happened. Two lower seed “upsets,” and one that was expected but didn’t happen. Lots of worries, but ultimately nothing.

Upsets
#12 Pacific over #5 Providence. Providence never seemed to have recovered from being blown out at home by Pitt a few weeks ago. Since then, they’ve lost to BC, then Villanova in the first round of the BET, then this. You could make the argument that they were just as likely to go down as Florida, but Gomes had a good game (25 points, 13 boards). It was the rest of the team that did nothing.

Finally a #9 seed wins. UAB beats Washington 102-100 in a wild one.

Can’t we just play the First Half?
#6 Vanderbilt was trailing #11 Western Michigan after the first half. Late in the game, though, Vandy pulled ahead and kept sinking their shots and free throws. Everyone expected this to be an upset, but it didn’t happen.

In the opening round of a tournament, be it conference or the NCAA, as much as I root against the guy, I would expect a Rick Pitino team to win 9 times out of 10. This was the 10th time. Even whe they are the #10 seed against the #7. Lousiville blew an 11 point lead at halftime to lose by 10 to Xavier.

#11 Richmond playing #6 Wisconsin in Milwaukee. A 7 point halftime lead. Up by double digits in the second half. Then Wisconsin went unconscious and hit 12 of 14 shots to not only turn the game around and win by 12.

Though not actually ahead at halftime, the fact that #15 Eastern Washington was tied with #2 Oklahoma St. should count for something. Of course, OSU blew it open in the second half to win by 19.

Throwing A Scare
Plenty more of these.

#4 Cinci survived against #13 East Tennessee St. Cinci kept getting clutch 3s from Tony Bobbitt (the same guy who got punched in the privates by the DePaul player) to hold off ETSU and their insanely frenetic point guard Tim Smith. A wild one that Cinci won 80-77.

#3 Georgia Tech held on for dear life against #14 Northern Iowa. GT was up by 12 at the half, but fell asleep and let NIU back into the game.

#6 Boston College weathered a #11 Utah comeback to win.

#3 Pitt got past #14 University of Central Florida. Sadly, I was stuck watchign Xavier-Louisville most of the time. I saw the last 5 minutes or so of this game. On the bright side, I don’t think Pitt could shoot much worse. I hope someone posts on this game, otherwise, I will have to rely on the box score and press recaps. I’m going to wait until tomorrow for what that tells me. My gut is conflicted since Pitt was hardly the only team to struggle but win the first couple of days.

Never Really In Doubt
#4 Illinois over #13 Murray St.

#1 Kentucky putting away #16 Florida A&M. Though, only winning by 20 seems surprising.

#2 Mississippi St. taking apart #15 Monmouth.

# 7 Memphis having its way with #10 South Carolina.

#4 Kansas pushing around #13 University of Illinois-Chicago.

Not quite at the same level as the rest, but #3 NC State was never truly threatened by #14 Louisiana-Lafayette

Conference Review
The ACC went 6-0.

The Big East was 5-1.

SEC 4-2.

Conference USA 4-2

Big XII 4-0.

Atlantic 10 2-2.

Big 11 2-1.

Pac 10 1-2.

Mountain West 0-3.

The rest of the field 4-17.

Personal Bracket Thoughts
None of my Sweet 16 was eliminated. Kicking myself for going with Providence. Let my Big East bias pick them despite how little heart they have shown in the last couple weeks.

Lots and lots of articles in the locals the last couple days. I’m crunched on free time, so here’s the rundown.

Scouting reports and info on the actual team and their style of play. UCF sold their allotment of tickets for the game.

UCF playing with house money, beware the upset articles are typical fare. They are true, but they are also predictable works.

Notebook piece leads with more comments about how the seeding is not important. Page has said his ankle feels fine and he will play. I just hope Dixon limits his minutes. Get Graves and Demetrius in there for him a little more in the first game. Brandin Knight gave him a call the other day. Knight also spoke to the team yesterday and watched them practice.

A look at the “pod” where Pitt is playing reveals that it’s all about defense.

Guess what? Pitt’s bench will be important. Whoa. Too much information.

Pitt great, Jerome Lane, likes this Pitt team better than the ones he played on in the 80s. It’s interesting to read because of the harsh words he has for his former Pitt coach Paul Evans, ” now a real estate salesman in Annapolis, Md., did not respond to requests to talk about his days at Pitt or this year’s team.”

Long column on Jamie Dixon and how he prepared to become a head coach — his note taking is apparently the stuff of legends.

Mike Pirusta of the Trib is hedging on Pitt’s chances, looking at all their potential opponents to get to the Final Four. Eh, really it’s just one more game than expected that is going to be difficult. Even as a #2 seed, Pitt would have had someone like OSU to face. Now, it’s just a matter of doing it.

Cook cribs my notes for his column today. From my game notes on the BET Championship game.

Cook today:

The shot total was so astonishing for a point guard that it staggered even Carl Krauser.

“I shot it 18 times? I didn’t know that,” Krauser said after Pitt’s semifinal win against Boston College in the Big East tournament last week.

Krauser took 42 shots in the three games at Madison Square Garden. That wasn’t just the most on the Pitt team. It was more than Chris Taft’s and Chevon Troutman’s combined total of 38.

And you wonder why the Pitt offense is struggling?
…
Krauser has the ability to get the ball to Taft and Troutman down low. They’re both good enough passers that they can find the other when the defense sags or hit Brown slashing to the basket or get the ball back outside to Krauser or Julius Page for an open shot. “A lot of things can work through your big guys,” Krauser acknowledged. “When you’ve got a great interior passing team like we do, it makes the game a lot easier.”

This isn’t all on Krauser to share the ball more. Taft and Troutman need to do a better job demanding it.

I only pointed it out in a conclusory paragraph. He makes it a whole column.

In papers outside of Pittsburgh.

The idea of an upset win for UCF has people in Orlando dreaming of it making UCF a known team. Up there with other teams that have done it like Cleveland State. The columnist pulls a lot of stuff from the Pittsburgh papers to show how know one is respecting UCF. The respect issue is mentioned again in a notebook piece about the match-up in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There was also this.

Seconds after the Pittsburgh players took the court for practice Thursday, a Wisconsin fan clearly anticipating the second-round showdown began taunting the Panthers. “Wis-CON-sin!”

Wouldn’t that guy feel really stupid if Richmond beat the Badgers.

UCF also plays a half-court, deliberate offense so that won’t be much of an adjustment for them. A notebook column sounds a little bitter in one part about how UCF didn’t get invited to join the Big East, while USF did; and t-shirt wars.

Both Pittsburgh and UCF showed up with new t-shirts to mark their NCAA appearances.

The Panthers went through Thursday’s practice with the slogan “We all we got” on the backs of their shirts.

“It’s one of a bunch of mottos they have,” Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon said. “That’s the only one we could get on a shirt.”

UCF shirts were suggested by assistant coach Craig Brown. They have a school logo on the front. On the back: “March Madness” and “Dancing in 2004!”

Oh, and in light of the whole seeding issue and late conference championship games that cost Wisconsin at least one spot in seedings, the Big Eleven wants to talk to CBS about the times for the conference championship game (no doubt, so does the Big XII).

There were a lot of close games, but not a lot of surprises in Day 1. Only two games were upsets, insofar, as the lower seed advanced. Neither was much of a “bracket buster” style upset.

Upsets
#10 Nevada beat #7 Michigan St. Michigan St. blew a 9 point halftime lead, and could only score 23 points in the second half.

#12 Manhattan beat #5 Florida. Every year a 12 beats a 5. This was the one, most expected. Manhattan is better than a #12, with its talent and experience. Florida has been on a downward spiral, but surged to the SEC Championship game to get such a high spot. The real surprise, was the way Florida quit in the game.

Piece of Cake
The #1 seeds had no problems. St. Joe’s blew the game open against Liberty early and coasted from there. Duke mauled Alabama St. Same for Stanford against Texas-San Antonio.

#2 UConn started slow, but won with ease against #15 Vermont. The same thing for Gonzaga against Valpo.

Second Half Runs
#3 Texas found itself behind after the first half against #14 Princeton. To start the second half, led by Brandon Mouton, Texas went on a 24-8 run and held on from there. Texas could not miss at the 3-point line (11-15), with two guys combining to go 9-10.

#6 North Carolina had its own big second half run to beat #11 Air Force. Air Force held a 6 point lead with 13 minutes left in the game, but had two extended scoring droughts that allowed UNC to pull away.

Texas and UNC face each other on Saturday. Can we just skip the first half?

The 8/9 Surprise
You really can’t go wrong picking the #9 seed over the #8 seed. The #9 seed had a 42-34 edge on #8 seeds in games heading into this year. I let my personal biases decide these games, because it’s mostly harmless. The next opponent is the #1 seed, so it’s not a bracket buster if wrong. Today, the #8 seed won both games played. Texas Tech held off Charlotte, to actually let Bobby Knight into the second round in a few years.

Seton Hall came back to beat Arizona. Arizona’s disappointing season gets an exclamation point.

The #9 seed I was sure would win was Southern Illinois. They stormed back from a 10 point halftime deficit to take the lead with less than 20 seconds. Of course, they allow Alabama to run right down the court and retake the lead and win 65-64.

A stunning 3-0 day for the #8 seeds. It’ll be up to UAB to prevent the sweep.

The “If Only” Games
Three teams not really expected to have trouble in the opening round, but did. They survived, but it wasn’t pretty. The kind of game where the other side looks back at certain plays and says, “If only…”

#4 Wake Forest, playing in Raleigh, North Carolina needed a score in the last minute and defensive stops to beat #13 Virginia Commonwealth, 79-78.

The other ACC #4 team, Maryland, really looked liked they were getting gassed by the end of their match-up with University of Texas-El Paso. They surrendered the lead late, but got it back and held on to win 86-83. For the Terps, you have to wonder how much they have left after their ACC Tournament run.

#5 Syracuse was expected to take apart #12 BYU. Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, and banging style was to be too much for BYU to handle. Syracuse had to abandon the zone for man-to-man after BYU kept shredding it, and the Mormons were able to bang around on the inside. Syracuse won because Gerry McNamara had a career game. He had 43 points, with 9 3-pointers. His only blemish was a subpar (for him freethrow shooting game of only 12-16).

Both Maryland and Syracuse survived similar 1st round scares in their runs to the national championship the previous 2 years. Maryland and Syracuse play each other on Saturday.

Last Man Standing
Last game of the night turned out to be a double overtime piece of ugly. This was no instant classic. This was brutal to watch. #7 DePaul against #10 Dayton. This game had it all in the negative.

Bad shooting. Poor freethrow shooting. Bad officiating. Bad decisions on the court.

The numbers are staggering. Dayton shot 34.2%, and was a pathetic 3-20 from 3-point land. Their free throw shooting was a stunning 52% (12-23). DePaul was only marginally better. They shot 40.7% and made 23-40 free throws. DePaul had one player go 10-10 at the line, and another who was 0-10. By the start of the second overtime, both teams were just shambling up and down the court.

I will be shocked if DePaul has anything left to throw at UConn on Saturday.

Okay, I accept that we haven’t had any readers sign-up for the Bracket Challenge. But none of the other PSB contributors have signed up to play. WTF?

Still not a lot of spare time. Okay, I’ve been doing a lot of brackets tonight. Here are the articles of note, a little late but worth a glance.

The P-G beat writer worries about Pitt’s offense. Historically in the NCAA Tournament, if a team averages under 70 points per game they don’t make it to the final four. Hard to be that concerned when Pitt is at 69.2 points per game.

Page has been sitting out practices. Seems his ankle has been acting up again. Please tell me he has at least been practicing his stroke.

Joe Starkey of the Trib thinks Taft should and can be the go-to scorer the Panthers need to go deep in the Tourney. I’m all for it, even if it means Taft would leave after this season.

ESPN puff-piece on Coach Jamie Dixon. Nothing we haven’t read before.

Jay Bilas of ESPN is still sticking up for Pitt.

That said, there is no way Pittsburgh is a No. 3 seed. Further, there is no way Pitt should be playing against Wisconsin in Milwaukee. This is a bad seed and a bad matchup.

The Panthers did play Alabama, Florida State and Georgia, but overall scheduled a relatively weak nonconference slate. Pitt won five games against the top 25 (only Duke won more such games) and won nine against the top 50 (only Duke, Kentucky and UConn won more). And, as much as I respect Gonzaga, I would have put Pitt ahead of the Zags in seeding.

And where does it fit that Pitt has to play Wisconsin in Milwaukee? That strikes me as a bit unfair. Did it occur to anyone that Wisconsin has the highest RPI of any No. 6 seed, should have been seeded higher, and can bump and grind very nicely against Pitt. To have to play Wisconsin in its own backyard is hardly a reward. In fact, it’s just another chip on the shoulders of the Panthers.

Pitt has more to be concerned about than just seeding and location. The Panthers are a really physical team that stands you up on a team’s cuts, bumps its foe off its path, and denies every spot on the floor. All this throws a team off its rhythm, as well as equilibrium, and makes Pitt one of the best defensive teams in the country.

However, NCAA Tournament games — especially in early rounds — will be called closer than Big East games and will have mixed crews. The Panthers need to adjust early to the way the game is being called, or foul trouble could follow. Remember, basketball is the only game in which you can be disqualified for making simple mistakes. Nobody fouls out in football or gets sent to the bench by the umpires for errors. Officiating can be a big factor in winning and losing in the NCAA Tournament.

It’s that last paragraph that has me worried. The BET last week had the refs letting a lot go uncalled. Hopefully Pitt will be able to adjust during their first game on Friday night. 9:50pm. I’ll be watching flash ins because I know they’ll be showing the Xavier-Lousiville matchup in Cleveland.

Pitt press release and game notes for Friday’s game.

Very useful. Pitt’s post-season media guide

You can download the entire thing in PDF.

Guess the P-G columnist who wrote the following.

For a nationally elite team such as Pitt, the Big East regular season and tournament are relatively minor preludes to the NCAA tournament.

Answer. The same guy who wrote this today.

Can a seriously flawed team overcome its deficiencies and advance to the Final Four?

Yes, it’s Bob Smizik. So, now a Pitt team that went 4-1 since the former column was written is now “seriously flawed.” If Pitt is seriously flawed, then so is every team in the NCAA. Reading Smizik’s column, you would think that Wisconsin would be the toughest foe awaiting Pitt. He devalues Oklahoma St., a team that is just as tough as Pitt, but has gotten better perimeter shooting; and was arguably the highest #2 seed after winning both the Big XII regular and conference championship — but was penalized for not finishing the conference championship before the seeding committee had decided.

I mean, I like it when there are legitimate criticisms from the local paper of the team. What I don’t like are knee-jerk contrarian positions just for the sake of being controversial or not like the rest. That is all this piece seems to be.

Our NCAA Basketball coverage to announce Pitt’s football schedule (good timing for the athletic department to release the info a couple days before the NCAA Basketball Tournament). The big story, Pitt plays WVU on Thanksgiving night. Thanks. You know what the likelihood is that I’ll make that one? It’s inversely related to my marriage.

Sept. 4 at South Florida
Sept. 11 Ohio
Sept. 18 Nebraska
Sept. 25 Furman
Sept. 30 (Thurs.) at Connecticut* (ESPN or ESPN 2)
Oct. 9 at Temple*
Oct. 16 Boston College*
Oct. 23 Rutgers*
Nov. 6 at Syracuse*
Nov. 13 at Notre Dame (NBC)
Nov. 25 (Thurs.) West Virginia* (ESPN)

West Virginia Coach, Rich Rodriguez isn’t thrilled with the game though

If Rodriguez had his way, however, the Mountaineers wouldn’t play at all that week.

“The only bad thing about those games on Thanksgiving is that it is during hunting season,” Rodriguez said. “Thanksgiving week, I’d rather not play, especially if it’s a home game, because many of the fans will be in the woods and in tree stands.”

Insert your own joke here.

I hate them, and a scan of the archives at PSB will back that up. They are the stock and trade of sports writers, and tv commentators who are lazy or just dull. Greg Doyel runs down the list of cliches and where they are in the NCAA Tournament. Sadly, depressingly accurate. Also, a summary of storylines and other notes in the East (Rutherford) region.

Craig Esherick has been a disaster as head coach at Georgetown. Yet he had survived, and looked like he made it through another year. Not only survived, but was arrogant about it. As Gregg Doyel at his CBS blog put it on March 11 (no permalinks):

Georgetown was right to give Esherick the chance to succeed John Thompson in 1998-99, and now Georgetown would be right to give someone else the chance to succeed Esherick, who has taken the Hoyas to 30-year lows.
…
Esherick remains defiant, crazily demanding kudos for Georgetown’s 30-year postseason run instead of apologizing that it ended under his watch.

“That’s a pretty incredible streak that I don’t think our school got credit for — that I don’t think I got any credit for,” he said Wednesday.

Kind of like Duke football after Steve Spurrier left in 1989, Georgetown basketball has become relevant only for its irrelevance. The difference is, from an athletics point of view, Duke doesn’t need football to matter. It has basketball.

Georgetown has nothing but basketball, which means that, under Esherick, Georgetown has nothing.

Well, it looks like the situation has changed. Georgetown fired him — in a released statement. If you’re counting at home, that makes two storied Big East programs looking for new head basketball coaches.

Not a lot of time today (kind of obvious since this post isn’t happening until now). Some articles of interest to link.

Donatas Zavackas lives. He is back in Poland and still follows the Panthers. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand what happened last year with him against Marquette.

Pitt is ready to play and prove people wrong.

Pitt AD Long now claims he wasn’t upset on Sunday upon learning Pitt was a #3 seed when he “stormed out of the selection show party shortly at the Petersen Events Center after Pitt’s draw was unveiled.” He was merely trying to “understand” the decision.” He wanted to find an objective outlook. He still hasn’t gotten an explanation from the NCAA.

Sports Illustrated had one writer praise Pitt as the best team in the Big East and with the best shot to do well in the NCAA Tourney. Of course another covering the East picked Oklahoma State.

Pitt’s seeding and where they play was the major story today. Heard Rome rant, ESPN’s “Around the Horn” panned it, various commentators on Sporting News Radio broadcasts layed into it. No one could make sense of the decision, and the committee did itself no favor with Bowlsby’s comments from yesterday about the higher seed only getting the neutral court for the first game.

The newspapers around the country are mostly picking Oklahoma State to come out of the East. No surprise that papers in Texas like OSU. But then so do the dailies in California.

Well, I found one bold prediction giving Pitt the National Championship, no less. From New York Newsday

A little controversy right off the bat when Pittsburgh, seeded third, has to play No. 6 Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the second round. It’s bad enough that the Panthers lost to Marquette in the Elite 8 a year ago. Now they have to face an arena of cheeseheads. They win anyway and benefit from the upset of No. 2 Oklahoma State by John Calipari’s Memphis team in Kansas City. Saint Joe’s rolls through its foes but is denied a storybook ending one victory from the Final Four by a Pitt team strong on muscle and defense.

I think he was still a little flush from the BET. Speaking of being flush from the BET, this column from Shaun Powell shows how NYC residents still think of the Big East.

In the years to come, the Big East, as we will know it, will be largely missing from the NCAA consciousness during the fall and winter months.

In that sense, The Big Sleep Conference will be on grizzly bear time. The member schools will snore right through football season, so please, do not disturb.

But do not pity, either. To be honest, the conference could give a BCS about football.

This is about the Northeast, this is about the spring, and this conference is about basketball. Always has been, and with Miami leaving, always will be.

I mean, this is absurd on its face. He does know that all of the new BE teams coming in are mid-west and from Florida? Right?

Of course there are those that see Pitt as ripe for an opening round exit.

I hope someone from the Pitt coaching staff or one of the players starts printing these out and pinning them up to let the Pitt players know how little the national media believes in them.

Now I’m pissed. I can only hope the Pitt players are even half as pissed as the fans. Pitt, the regular season Big East Championship, #6 in the polls, lost only in the BET championship to UConn, lost only 4 games by a total of 10 points, and #8 in the RPI is given the double screw by the NCAA Tournament Committee. Pitt was not only dropped to a #3 seed, they play their first two games in Milwaukee, where the second game would likely be against Wisconsin. Excuse me?

This was the outrage of the seeding. Everyone agreed that the Panthers were given a raw deal, or as Jay Bilas put it on ESPN last night, got “jobbed.” When the head of the committee Bowlsby, the AD from Iowa was being interviewed that was one of the first questions. His defense was Pitt’s non-conference schedule dragged them down and losing to UConn 2 out of 3 times. He ignored Pitt’s Big East schedule and winning the Big East regular season — impliedly suggesting that for Pitt, the conference regular season wasn’t important. As for getting placed in Wisconsin, he avoided the question. He said the committee was only obligated to make sure the first round game was neutral for the higher seeds (and after that, screw you).

St. Joe’s lost in the first round of the A-10 Tourney to Xavier big, and because of the weakness of the A-10, their overall strength of schedule (SOS) was 1 behind Pitt (46 to 45). The Committee ignored the tournament results and rewarded St. Joe’s for their non-con and regular season A-10 championship.

Gonzaga, who the committee appeared to be determined to give a number #2 seed was given the extra reward of playing in Seattle for its first 2 games. The Zags played a tough non-con, but considering how weak their conference was, it dropped their SOS to 85. This seeding strikes me as a payback for past screwovers in seeding Gonzaga (like last year).

I could see Pitt getting the #3 seed, kind of, but then you have to put Pitt in a better position to face the lowest #2 seed in the Sweet 16. That would have been Gonzaga not Oklahoma St.

That said, Pitt has to now go out and ram it down the Committee’s throat. The seeding committee doesn’t believe Pitt is that good. They have to use that as motivation. Us against them mentality.

The other thing is that Pitt is in the East (Rutherford) bracket. This means that if it gets to the Sweet 16, the next two games will be in New Jersey. That’s the closest regional to Pittsburgh and Pitt actually has large alumni bases in Philly, NY and NJ..

Coach Dixon was interviewed a couple times. He needs to show some personality. His responses were almost like they were programmed coachspeak and cliches. He refused to speculate beyond getting ready for Central Florida. Was way too nice to the committee. He actually used the phrase, “We’re just happy to be here.” NO! Look, he doesn’t need to be foaming at the mouth or uttering curses. He wouldn’t even say something halfway there like, “Well we’re a little disappointed, but the committee has a tough job and it can’t make everyone happy.” Or something to the effect, “We still have to win these games, our players know that and like they have all year are ready to go out there and prove it.”

I really think he needed to give the Pitt fans and alumni something. He needed to let us know that the team is going to go out there with some anger and determination. Dixon has had a great first season, but he has been the blandest and most boring copy I’ve ever heard or read in a coach. His players love him, so there is obviously something he doesn’t show the public. Dixon needs to show this side. If for no other reason, than his own job security. He won this year, but it’s easy to say he won with Howland’s players and recruits. If he doesn’t get out in a way that makes the fans and alumni comfortable and personally like him, they will turn on him at the first bump. Show some personality Dixon. Give us a reason to like you and give you space to have problems — because problems will come, they always do.

Other Seeding Notes
Of the 4 conferences that got 6 seeds, the ACC was given the best seeding, and therefore the best chance to get a lot of teams into the Sweet 16 and beyond. Duke was a #1, GT and NC St. were both given #3 seeds, Wake and Maryland got #4 seeds and UNC got a #6 seed. They may have been the best conference but they didn’t deserve half of the #3 and #4 seeds.

Conference USA was completely dismissed. Cinci, tied for the regular season title and winning the C-USA Tournament, was the highest seed at #4. This, despite having an RPI of 11 and being 12/13 in the polls. They were given their first 2 games in Columbus, Ohio, but would face a Sweet 16 game against Duke. DePaul and Memphis were given #7 seeds. Charlotte and UAB received the tails side of the coin toss by being #9 seeds. Lousiville was punished for their late season collapse by being dropped to a #10 seed.

The SEC ranged from #1 (Kentucky) to #10 (South Carolina). Mississippi St. was a deserved #2 seed. Florida (#5), Vanderbilt (#6) and Alabama (#8) in my mind were maybe a spot too high, but about right.

The ACC was skewed up and C-USA skewed down. SEC was about right, but a hair up. The Big East was about right, but a hair down. UConn was an easy #2, Pitt #3. Providence and Syracuse were both #5. I might have pushed ‘Cuse up a spot. Boston College was placed at #6 despite being only one place behind Providence in RPI (22 to 21). Seton Hall was about right at #8.

The Big XII with 4 teams in about the right spots. OK St. was a solid #2. Texas got a fair 3 seed. I think Kansas is a spot high at #4. Texas Tech at #8.

The A-10 will likely have 3 of the 4 teams gone by Sunday. St. Joe’s is a #1 as expected. Xavier is #7 facing Louisville and likely Mississippi St. Dayton is at #10 (second round match against UConn) and Richmond sneaks in at #11 (Wisconsin and then Pitt).

The Big 11 was dissed. It was a down year, but they made Wisconsin — the Big 11 Tourney champ and #12 in the RPI a 6 seed (but they did stick them in Milwaukee). Illinois the regular season champ got a #5 seed. Michigan St. (#7) was placed in Seattle and looks to face Gonzaga in the second round. Nice.

The PAC-10 got its 3. Stanford at #1, Washington and Arizona at #8.

Mountain West was given 3 expected to go out in the first day. Utah and Air Force have #11 seeds and BYU is a #12 seed.

Local Media

Well at least the players and the AD were pissed.

Pitt athletic director Jeff Long stormed out of the selection show party shortly at the Petersen Events Center after Pitt’s draw was unveiled. Players were equally upset about the draw. A couple of them jeered when Saint Joseph’s came up on the screen as a No. 1 seed. The reaction was shock when they saw themselves come up as a No. 3 seed.

“We don’t get the hype that we deserve,” sophomore point guard Carl Krauser said. “It’s always a lack of respect when it comes down to Pittsburgh. Maybe it’s because we’re not in the ACC, I don’t know. We’re just going to have to take it on the chin and play. We all expected to be a No. 2 seed. We have the most wins in the nation. I thought we deserved that No. 2.”

They also note the surprise from the analysts.

“I think it’s totally unfair,” added broadcasting legend Dick Vitale. “They should have a chip on their shoulders.”

Pitt’s seeding was the buzz topic on the national circuit, prompting one studio host to call it the “most controversial and wrong seeding,” in the field. Another said, “Pittsburgh got a raw deal.”

Troutman made a good point.

“I don’t think we should have fallen as far,” junior forward Chevon Troutman said. “But what can we do about it? I don’t think basketball has been big here and we don’t have a long history, so I think that’s a reason we don’t get respect.”

Two columns. One takes a hysterical tone to the drop to #3 seed — the level of disprespect for Pitt is nuts. The other is realistic and looks to the overall make-up of the region — and how Pitt should see the opportunity. It’s actually pretty reasonable.

Pitt matches up well with Wisconsin, too.

Now, to long-term benefits of Pitt’s bracket. If St. Joseph’s is, indeed, the least of the No. 1 seeds, Pitt has been spared the potentially more difficult task of having to make it past Kentucky or Duke or Stanford to reach the Final Four.

If Pitt reaches the Sweet 16 round again, it’s likely to find No. 2 seed Oklahoma State there. Pitt’s inside strength could tip that battle, against a Cowboys team loaded with swing men. In the regional final, it should be Saint Joseph’s or No. 4 seed Wake Forest.

Just imagine if Pitt makes it to the Elite 8 to face Wake Forest. Think Coach Dixon might want that one?

You would think a team that was a pre-season #1 would have their local media relieved that they finally lived up to the hype by winning the BET. Surely they wouldn’t consider it one of the greatest UConn wins ever — would they?

UConn has celebrated some magical moments at Madison Square Garden, but Saturday night may have topped them all.

Oh. This win has evoked a lot of memories for the media following UConn

With 30.4 seconds left on this memorable March night, he climbed into Ray Allen’s jersey and hit a runner in the lane over a wall of Pittsburgh Panthers.

The shot was a huge one. The moment was even bigger.

Eight years ago, in this same game in the big city, Allen’s runner had curled around the rim and dropped in to drop Georgetown for one of the greatest comebacks in UConn basketball history. As a snapshot, there are few more savored Polaroids in the Huskies’ scrapbook.

Allen’s Big East tournament winner in 1996 had come too late for Georgetown to recover. Pitt would have a solid last chance Saturday night and maybe it had to be this way for Ben Gordon.
…
The buzzer sounded. Gordon thought the game was over. He took the basketball in one hand and heaved it all the way to the Hudson River. No, it was farther than that. He threw it all the way to his hometown of Mount Vernon.

There could be no sweeter moment for a New York kid, especially one prodded for being timid, one prodded to take charge. Gordon took charge all right. He jumped up on the scorer’s table the way El-Amin did that afternoon in Pittsburgh during the 1999 national title run. Only this time, it wasn’t done as a response to the taunting of UConn’s biggest rival. It was done in unrestrained joy.

What? No reference to Donyell Marshall? They have made Ben Gordon a god.

Still, UConn found a way to win its sixth Big East championship.

Found a way because Ben Gordon made good on every bet that has ever been placed on him.

Most Huskie followers were just relieved Okafor left for foul troubles, not back spasms. And of course, there is love for the big men who filled in for Villanueva yesterday and Okafor the two previous games — a classic “what they did, doesn’t show up in the stat sheet” piece.

Then there is this.

Pitt could still land a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. With their physical style and terrific defense, they won’t be easy to beat in the postseason. But they must get past this disappointment first.

Apparently the writer is convinced that this loss is a total demoralizer for Pitt. I have a hard time seeing it like that. Nothing the Pitt players or Coach Dixon said indicates they won’t get past the game.

Lots of articles, and it may actually take a couple days before I get to everything. So, starting with the local dailies, there is a sense that this is not an earthshattering loss. Ron Cook is a leading proponent on this and has two columns extolling this line.

I want to be disappointed with Pitt this morning. Disappointed that it blew a 12-point second-half lead against Connecticut. Disappointed that it blew a wonderful chance to win a second consecutive Big East Conference tournament championship. Disappointed that it blew a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Disappointed that it blew it all.

But I’m sorry, I can’t feel that way.

That was too good of a game at Madison Square Garden last night.

That was too good of an opponent.

It’s fairly safe to say Pitt won’t play a better team in the NCAA tournament. That doesn’t mean the Panthers are a lock for the national championship or even the Final Four. It also doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty to work on between now and their first-round game Thursday or Friday.

It just means there was no shame in this 61-58 loss.

The most annoying thing, is I don’t totally disagree. I wanted Pitt to win. I leapt from my seat at times, shouted, yelled, cheered and fell to the floor when Gordon put UConn ahead with less than a minute left. But after it was over, I was not despondent. It would have been great to win, but part of me was already moving on to NCAA Tourney dreams. Mike Pirusta also was ready to start the NCAA Tourney dreaming.

This is probably the best recap of the game, and it points out an interesting figure: UConn had a 23-4 edge in second chance points. It also points out that Pitt was outrebounded 41-33. I don’t find that so disturbing, because UConn had a 14-3 rebounding edge at the 12:02 mark of the first half, most coming during UConn’s initial run. From that point on, Pitt actually held a slight 30-27 rebounding edge. Strangely, none in the Pittsburgh media or in recaps seems to note that in the first half both teams exchanged runs. Even the final 8 minutes is not put in the context of a run. I guess that was just me.

The “notebook” columns from each paper are interesting. This one leads with the high bench scoring from Pitt. The other one observes that this was the 8th time the BET Championship game was played between 2 top ten teams. It also has a little note about Brandin Knight contacting Dixon and Krauser the day of the game with some advice.

From the BET site, they list the:

2004 BIG EAST ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Taliek Brown, Connecticut, Sr.
Jaron Brown, Pittsburgh, Sr.
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh, So.
Chris Taft, Pittsburgh, Fr.
Craig Smith, Boston College, So.

Dave Gavitt Trophy (Most Outstanding Player)
Ben Gordon, Connecticut, Jr.

Here are the interview transcripts for Pitt and UConn. There was a follow up to Taliek Brown on his joking comments about “hating” Pitt.

Q. Last night you said (inaudible)?
TALIEK BROWN: They cool with me, now (laughter). They all right with me now.

I should note that none of the Pittsburgh media used the “We hate them” quote in any articles. I expected them to, but they didn’t bother. Good.

Throw In

I meant to highlight this article earlier in the week about the NCAA Tournament selection committee. It talks about how the conferences lobby the committee members for their bubble teams. I found it interesting.

One of the more covert aspects of the NCAA Tournament selection process is the work done by conference offices to advocate the candidacy of their teams. Nobody likes to use the word “lobbying.” Fair or not, this connotes the use of expensive dinners, extravagant gifts and junkets to manipulate the political process. What the conferences primarily do with members of the selection committee is give them more to read.
…
Just before selection weekend, the leagues present organized material that champions the strength of their teams. A lot of this information can be found on a Ratings Percentage Index breakdown page: overall record, conference record, record against various levels of RPI teams, etc. But there also is information about injuries and suspensions that might have affected results. The committee often talks about how teams will be given breaks if injuries affected results — so long as those players are back competing effectively.
…
Ultimately, the conferences do this work because they’re passionate about it and their members are, effectively, paying them to do it. Coaches appreciate knowing somebody is out there fighting for their cause. But who knows whether it works? Without being lobbied, bracket analysts Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com and Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com routinely come close to matching the committee’s picks. They’ve come to understand what numbers the committee values.

Of course, that reminds me that it is time for the members of PSB and its readers to sign-up in the ESPN NCAA Tourney Challenge. Our group is called, not surprisingly, “Pitt Sports Blather.”

The UConn-Pitt game was one of runs. Hot and cold spells. Nothing and everything. UConn went on a 13-2 run to start. Pitt countered with a 19-2 sprint. Then 8-4 UConn, countered by 9-2 by Pitt. And that was just in the first half. If you were looking for flow, consistency and rhythm then this was not your game. Ultimately, UConn made a final run to win the game and the Big East Championship, 61-58. Hats off to the Huskies. I would have to say both UConn and Pitt should get #2 seeds for the NCAA this evening. Let’s go to the game notes.

Before the game, the announcers tell us that Okafor will play and Villanueva will sit. Had that dead wrong. The Garden already sounds loud. There should be a an edge to UConn in the crowd, simply by geographic proximity.

Pitt wins the tip, but Taft takes a shot that misses badly. UConn runs the floor and Anderson off of a screen drops a 3. Page takes Pitt’s next shot, and isn’t close. Okay. Page has to shut down Gordon. And on cue, Page steals the ball from Ben Gordon. Unfortunately Krauser’s shot goes in and out. Then Jaron Brown steals the ball and gets it to Troutman for a slam. The next 3 minutes is all UConn. Pitt can’t make a shot or get a rebound. Gordon nails two deep (beyond the NBA-line) 3-point shots in a row. Page will have to go out further on him, if he is feeling it like that. Okafor looks pretty good, grabbing rebounds inside, and completely changing shots. There’s a TV timeout at 14:46, and it’s 13-2 UConn.

At 13:50, Jaron Brown makes another steal and lays the ball in himself to end Pitt’s drought. At that point, they show that UConn went 5-11 on shooting, and Pitt was only 2-8. Okafor went out of the game in some obvious discomfort. He doesn’t sit, they say to avoid having his back tighten up. Judging by the grimace on his face, I’d say it’s already tight.

Pitt starts getting points. Krauser hits 2 free throws, and Torree Morris comes off the bench to slam the ball down off a pass from Jaron Brown. UConn has troubles, despite a 14-23 rebounding edge. Taliek Brown commits an offensive foul and with the score 13-8, Okafor comes back in after only a minute and a half of game time rest. Pitt is now in sync. Krauser to McCarroll for an alley-oop. Brown has his 3rd steal and lays another one in. UConn is not making anything. McCarroll nails a jumper and Pitt has the lead, 14-13. McCarroll looks like he is feeling confident tonight. Okafor makes a jumper to briefly let UConn retake the lead. Then Taft makes a jumper over Okafor. McCarroll adds a 3-pointer for 7 points off the bench. Gordon, who after starting 2-4 is now ice cold misses another 3-point shot and Krauser takes it down and hits a runner high off the glass to make it 21-15 Pitt. UConn takes a timeout at 8:13 to regroup from Pitt’s 19-2 run. In that run, UConn went 1-6 shooting, while Pitt was 7-10.

UConn gets a little run going to make it a 2 point game, 25-23 with 5 minutes left, but Pitt takes control for the final 5 minutes. Jaron Brown is playing a magnificent game. It seems as if he is showing his complete game with defense, passing and decent shooting. Making a case for an NBA team to at least consider signing him to play in the NBDL. McCarroll seemed to have received a message from Coach Dixon after his performance last night. He is on his game.

By Halftime, Pitt has a 34-25 lead. Pitt shot nearly 50% while holding UConn to under 30%. Pitt shot free throws well, 5-6, and had a 22-8 point edge over Syracuse for points in the paint. Page had no points but held Gordon to only 6 points on 2-10 shooting.

The second half looks like Pitt might do it. For almost 13 minutes, the teams just trade baskets, misses, and fouls. Antonio Graves who has gotten some minutes tonight buries a 3 to give Pitt a 51-40 lead at 8:25. Then it all changed.

UConn scores 7 unanswered points before Page makes a steal and lay-in to make it 53-47 with 4:56 left. Gordon who did not stop shooting the entire game (5-12 in the second half), made another 3 and made all his foul shots in the second half (6-6). Anderson added another 3 (he went 4-10 shooting 3’s). Okafor added a couple more points and rebounds before fouling out with 2:19 left, and Troutman made 1-2 free throws to give Pitt its first points in almost 2 minutes, still holding a 56-54 lead. Even with Okafor out, Pitt couldn’t rebound. Anderson’s 3 at 1:58 gave UConn it’s first lead since the mid-point of the first half. McCarroll hits a jumper, and Pitt has the lead. Then a minute of nothing. Gordon hits a clutch jumper with 39 seconds left, and UConn has a 59-58 lead.

Pitt takes a timeout. Krauser has the ball. He is holding to take a shot. Everyone knows he will be taking the shot. He starts to drive then pulls up for a jumper with about 8 seconds left. It misses, but McCarroll gets the rebound. He takes a jump shot and misses. It’s a long rebound to Gordon who is fouled with half a second left. He sinks his free throws. Pitt actually gets the ball all the way down to Page who misses a 2 point (2 point?) jumper. The final 8 minutes, and UConn goes on a 21-7 run to pull the game out.

Final 61-58.

Ben Gordon was the difference pouring in 23 points on 7-22 shooting. Amusing that he eclipsed Allen Iverson’s BET total scoring record while having an AI like shooting night. Page just wasn’t able to contain him. I was surprised how quiet Josh Boone was this game. Only 5 points and 3 rebounds. Rashad Anderson kept making 3s at key moments. Okafor was more effective than I thought he would be — 11 points and 13 rebounds. Gordon, Anderson and Okafor had 48 of UConn’s 61 points.

Unbelievable that Pitt got 20 points from the bench to UConn’s 0, but still lost. Pitt had the balanced scoring 11 points for both Taft and McCarroll, 10 points for Brown and Krauser. Pitt only scored 24 points in the second half. They shot 10-26 (38.5%) and only 3-7 on free throws in the second half.

Looking over my notes and the game log of the second half leads to some disturbing decisions. Pitt’s outside shots weren’t there. Krauser, Page and Brown each had only 1 basket in the second half. In the first half Pitt dominated points in the paint with 22 of their 34. They got away from that in the second half, settling for jumpers and not getting it inside to Taft, Troutman, Morris or even McCarroll. In the second half, Troutman only had one basket (1-1 shooting, and 1-2 on free throws), and Taft only had 3 shots (2-3, but also 2-4 on free throws). I don’t know if I should blame Krauser at point for not trying to get the ball inside more, or Coach Dixon for not instructing the players to do so. That’s when Pitt loses. When they forget to get it inside.

Seeding Thoughts

Briefly, I have to believe that both UConn and Pitt will get #2 seeds. I think the ACC will end up with 6 teams in the NCAA, because there aren’t enough at-large bids — 34. Consider the multiple seed conferences:

Big East — Pitt, UConn, Syracuse, BC, Providence, Seton Hall
ACC — Duke, UNC, NC St., Wake Forest, Maryland, Georgia Tech.
SEC — Kentucky, Florida, Vandy, MSU, Georgia, South Carolina
C-USA — Cinci, Louisville, DePaul, UAB, Memphis, Charlotte
Big XII — OSU, Texas, Kansas, Tex Tech
A-10 — St. Joe, Xavier, Dayton, Richmond
Big 11 — Illinois, Wisc., MSU
Pac 10 — Stanford, AZ, Wash.

Right there, is 30 at-large bids. That doesn’t count Mountain West which will have BYU and probably Air Force as at-large bids to go with Utah. Southern Illinois and Utah St. will get at-large bids. Richmond is the only team listed that could end up being shafted.